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Fight for Your Right to Party on a Budget

Jan 31, 2013

Does spending big bucks hold you back from having a big bash?

It shouldn’t have to be so costly to just have a gathering with your friends and family.

You may think it’s inflation or that the economy is to BLAME!

Actually a lack of creativity is working AGAINST you.

Not anymore!

There’s a website to help you craft a spending plan. If you ignore it, you can miss out on meaningful times with special people.

Here’s how to fight for your right to party.

It’s very easy to overspend when you are looking to through a bash on a budget. I often turn to this calculator on Evite.com when I want to quickly estimate what the party will cost.

1. The estimator allows you to choose your event type with a drop down menu.You then select the number of guests, how long you want your party to last, and you can name your party.

I think people often take for granted how time plays into how much you will spend. If your party is an all day event, you want to make sure you don’t run out of food or spend more than you anticipated.

2. You will then be able to choose your budget level for each category provided.

3. Once you select a dollar sign symbol, the estimator will show a ballpark range of how much it will potentially cost you. You will quickly be able to see if the amounts given are what you planned on spending.

Let’s say you were looking to spend $500. If you truly want to serve 6 types of appetizers and 2 desserts for 50 people, you can quickly see how the food will eat up most of your money (pun intended). Right away you’ll see that you will have to make up for the expense by trimming the other categories that you find less important in order to stay within your budget. You could also enlist the help of the guests to bring a dish or help out with beverages to minimize the total cost of your gathering.

4. If you realize that maybe you need to serve less food, click on the circle with one dollar sign (see below). It will reconfigure the estimate. This can free up money for you to spend in other categories.

5. The estimate will appear at the bottom. Based on what I selected on the page, it looks as though we’d be able to stick to our budgeted amount.

The trick is to make sure you actually spend within those limits. You can also print out the budget to have the numbers handy when shopping.

Also make sure to type in the actual amount you spend to keep track of the purchases made, so you don’t go off course.

6. Be sure to save your budget.

If you enjoyed this free information, please share it. It’s just like switching players in fantasy football. That’s a fair trade, right?